The Impending Crisis of E3

2015’s E3 is less than one week away, and I personally could not be more excited. With an increase in press conferences, anticipation for the trade show is seemingly growing each day. Despite general eagerness being as pervasive as years past, there is something rather odd regarding expected material. Fallout 4, one of the most anticipated titles projected to be revealed at E3, was just recently given an announcement and its own trailer; almost out of nowhere. Despite my genuine excitement for the game, Fallout 4’s reveal proved to me that as the internet becomes more prevalent in aspects of modern culture, certain pastimes are simultaneously becoming redundant. E3 is no exception.

During the trade fair’s inaugural year of 1995, the only realistic way to obtain E3 information was through monthly print magazines such as Game Informer. Only a few years following, major websites such as Gamespot and IGN would further the evolution of coverage with full-day recaps posted daily. Fast-forward to modern day, and the ability to stream the press conferences themselves is available. In turn, marketing strategies have morphed from impressing a limited number of members of the press, to an emphasis on the public. Not that there is anything apparently wrong with that format, but the sad truth is that the event is also being buried by the derivations of trade shows it helped rise.

Due to the impact of E3, a large number of fellow videogame trade shows arose, including: Tokyo Game Show, Gamescom, QuakeCon, BlizzCon, GDC, and perhaps most importantly of all, PAX. Naturally, developer distribution for the advertising of their product has gradually become split. For instance, the most recent PAX East was scheduled during some of the same days as the Game Developers Conference, forcing a select number of developers to choose between one or the other. Since coverage can be obtained instantly in our current era, the show floors consisting of various demos at E3 and PAX usually take priority. Granted, events such as PAX are usually exclusively relevant for independent games in contrast to E3’s focus on big-budget titles, but it does not attribute E3 success when PAX is continuously increasing. Regardless, it’s no doubt an issue that E3 is showing little effort to evolve.

Titles with small teams such as No Man’s Sky have made recent appearances at E3 press conferences, but the remainder of the show is almost completely reserved for AAA titles, with few indie games gaining any more mention than “coming to PSN.” Not only that, but E3 demos are more or less restricted to the general impressions of members of the press, shunning the public. Some companies have responded with open betas immediately following various presentations (like EA last year with Battlefield Hardline), but they must rely on strictly internet forum feedback for their product’s exposure. PAX not only has the advantage first-hand public response, but allows for a larger presence of independent developers. Obviously PAX lacks the mainstream press conferences that E3 possesses, but perhaps that can be seen as complementary in comparison to E3’s contrasting layout. On paper, this format is still fine, but ever since the current console generation’s inception, many trailers initially presented at E3 have been condemned for misrepresentations of the final product and an overblown sense of narcissism in public relations’ preemptive speech. In reality, most modern E3 presentations simply exist to enhance excitement for an upcoming game that the public already knows is going to be released.

Certain video game announcements during past E3 presentations were vital tools in regards to the product’s initial hype, specifically applicable to titles like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Metal Gear Solid. Despite the fact that there will be more company conferences than usual this year, with the given information we already know, I feel there’s every reason to doubt that any announcement of that calibre will even be present this year. Surprises can always be a factor, but the fact remains that many major developers are now tending to ignore E3’s potential impact as well.

In April alone, confirmed announcements of new iterations of Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Deus Ex, and Star Wars: Battlefront were published. Not to mention that Halo saw a new major trailer, while Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed launched a large amount of information in May. A sequel to XCOM was announced recently, as well as the largely talked about Fallout 4; both seemingly out of nowhere. Tony Hawk and Battlefront were both highly impactful franchises during their era, while Rock Band and Guitar Hero arguably did the same during the following generation. Deus Ex saw a critically acclaimed revival, while Halo has set the industry on fire with nearly every entry on each console. XCOM: Enemy Unknown was a lauded reboot of an old franchise, while Fallout 4 will be the follow up to one of most important games from the previous generation of consoles. On top of all that, Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed were both easily the best-selling non-sport annual franchises of the past generation. Each of these games have a significant presence in the industry, and yet, I can’t help but feel that in the past, these announcements would have been reserved for E3.

With the advent of these seemingly lackluster announcements becoming more common among AAA developers, it seems the outlook is evolving from traditionally announcing a game at E3 to placing sporadic editorial reveals at whichever time they want. From a marketing standpoint, this seems to be an all-around ideal situation. Not only does the game avoid getting buried under every other notable instance featured that day, but they also gain the benefit of being the most significant piece of video game news for the week they announce their game. As a consumer, this transition is ultimately disappointing, as the build-up to E3 has almost always been about the unknown. Lately, the show has become elaborating more on what we already know. Again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that formula, but the more the event follows that path, the more it will inevitably be overshadowed by its accompanying conventions that it helped rise to fame. Fallout 4’s recent announcement is proof that reservation for E3 is losing its purpose, and developers seem to care less each year about announcing their games at the actual event. Like I said, I could not be more excited for E3, but I feel the actual industry has lost all interest.